As the scope of artificial intelligence broadens, computers are now beginning to do the tasks that humans previously did. Automated technology like chatbots or facial recognition no longer requires human engagement to assist consumers. Algorithms are now capable of taking data and performing duties that require logical and cognitive thinking skills. Any task previously performed by humans but now performed by AI is cognitive technology which could be a game changer for back-office administration.

When you think of back-office tasks, you probably think about a room filled with computers and telephone systems sitting atop a room full of carefully housed desks. You can even imagine the employees busily tending to the administrative duties necessary for day-to-day operations. For some companies who chose not to outsource, this is a reality, but for many others, the desks became less essential because outsourcing became cheaper than the in-house IT and employment infrastructures. Today, companies have chosen to assimilate once again with automated technology. The back-office software is minimalizing the need for human resources while maximizing revenue and growth.

For businesses, this type of technology can be beneficial because of voice recognition customer service, language processing, and digital vision imaging and videos. According to Deloitte, companies choose to outsource back office jobs to reduce costs, concentrate on core business functions, and quality service enhancement. As AI advances, it will disrupt the necessity for administrative outsourcing because it will be cheaper and more efficient to invest in technology rather than out-sourced employment.

Three factors in business will benefit from cognitive technology:

Cost Reduction: Harvard Business Review recently published findings that showed automated systems in back office administration generated more than 50% improvement in customer interaction and productivity. Cognitive technology will not replace human personnel; it will merely enhance competencies to include duties like data extraction for in-house use.

The Process of Core Business Functions: Administrative duties like financial allocation, data processing, and predictive analysis of contractual obligations. With IVR and voice and cognitive technology to analyze customer inquiries, the customer service industry will undergo enhancements that revolutionize the way businesses engage.

Quality Control: One of the most significant issues with outsourcing is that companies no longer control the quality of service provided to their customers which can cause significant problems when you do not oversee the operations. With cognitive technology, companies not only can see the programs in real time but they can use the data to lower error ratios while predicting future needs.

The Future of Outsourcing

While cognitive technology will disrupt B2B customer service and administrative positions, data extraction will become a vital necessity via outsourcing specialists because of the lack of in-house data collection capabilities. As more companies adapt to the future of artificial intelligence, more personnel will acquire the skills to perform data mining by using the software and services from companies like Content Grabber who offer self-service software, data extraction training, and management of web data services.

While personnel can spend as much as 70% of their day analyzing and researching, data miners can compile information like usage reports, statistics, and prediction indicators within minutes. Employees who have access to data are far more likely to successfully construct plans, predict budget needs, and execute them without error. Data extraction contributes to millions in revenue potential which is the most significant factor that will transform the way businesses utilize outsourcing in the future.

]]>http://blog.contentgrabber.com/cognitive-technology-will-broaden-business-capabilities/feed/0How The General Data Protection Regulation Affects Non-EU Companieshttp://blog.contentgrabber.com/general-data-protection-regulation-affects-non-eu-companies/
http://blog.contentgrabber.com/general-data-protection-regulation-affects-non-eu-companies/#respondFri, 09 Mar 2018 17:24:17 +0000http://blog.contentgrabber.com/?p=670In 2016, the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights specified that EU citizens have a right to personal data security which prompted new consumer protection laws. The new General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) is set to take effect on May 25, … Continue reading →

In 2016, the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights specified that EU citizens have a right to personal data security which prompted new consumer protection laws. The new General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) is set to take effect on May 25, 2018. Regulation 2016-679 protects personal data processing and migration of such information as it relates to consumer identification. While this regulation does not affect Content Grabber, the law will be problematic for some international companies that engage in specific business practices.

Data Extraction In 2018

The GDPR includes any identifiable information which will be a bit tricky considering the amount of information that consumers share online. Businesses employ a host of software technology to extract information from emails, images, social media, IP addresses, and consumer transactions that directly and indirectly identify a person.

Once the new law goes into effect, companies must protect data that can be modified or distributed. The provision forces companies to map and manage data collection including storage and transfer activity. GDPR also includes processes like encryption, security, compliance, and mandatory reporting.

Will GDPR Affect US Companies?

The third article of the GDPR states that any international company that collects personal information, consumer behaviors, or financial data must comply with the regulations under specific conditions.

The law only applies to EU citizens and non-EU countries of Norway, Iceland, and Liechtenstein within the jurisdiction at the time of data collection.

Any company that has existing business relations within the EU must abide by the legal requirements.

Accepting EU currency or using language from an EU country can indirectly subject you to regulations.

Even if you merely collect data, you must comply and confirm it does not breach security protocol.

The EU can fine a business as much as 4% of its annual revenue if it fails to safeguard data or report a security breach.

The law does not apply to companies that do not target EU consumers. If an EU citizen googles and visits a site that markets to non-EU consumers, the citizen would not have protection under GDPR guidelines.

Non-EU companies must receive consent with the use of precise and explicit notification of rights and responsibilities. Companies will need to adjust consumer permission forms to include proper notification standards.

Sequentum’s Managed Data Services do not collect identifiable information when extracting data so it is already GDPR compliant. Because of the scope of collection standards, however, our team will continue to monitor policy and procedures to ensure consumer protection as these changes go into effect.

]]>http://blog.contentgrabber.com/general-data-protection-regulation-affects-non-eu-companies/feed/05 Web Metrics Business Owners Should Pay Close Attention Tohttp://blog.contentgrabber.com/5-web-metrics-business-owners-pay-close-attention/
http://blog.contentgrabber.com/5-web-metrics-business-owners-pay-close-attention/#respondFri, 09 Feb 2018 20:29:43 +0000http://blog.contentgrabber.com/?p=664Fun fact: according to legend, it was renowned English renaissance man Francis Bacon who first coined and popularized the Latin phrase “scientia potentia est” — an axiom that is now frequently translated and repeated as “knowledge is power.” An even … Continue reading →

Fun fact: according to legend, it was renowned English renaissance man Francis Bacon who first coined and popularized the Latin phrase “scientia potentia est” — an axiom that is now frequently translated and repeated as “knowledge is power.”

An even funner fact: this old aphorism is probably more true today than it was back in the 16th century. Obviously, knowledge has always been invaluable — but over the course of the past ten years or so, new ways of gathering, storing, analyzing, and utilizing data have revolutionized business in virtually every aspect of the modern world.

From political election strategies to the development of artificial intelligence to the sabermetric shakeup that changed sports such as baseball forever: big data is everywhere, and its power is undeniable. But if you are a business owner, then you already know this! The odds are good that, if you aren’t using big data to your advantage, then your competitors almost certainly are — and you risk getting left behind.

Here’s the good news: participating in the big data revolution is easier and more accessible than ever before. Whether you run a large organization with thousands of employees, or you are simply managing a mom and pop shop out of your garage — big data could be helping you to make bigger profits for fewer expenses.

Below, we have compiled a quick list detailing 5 of the most fundamental statistics and metrics that your company should be tracking with data scraping software such as Content Grabber.

2. Advertising ROI. The marketing dollars you spend could potentially be a path toward increased profits — or they could be a money sink. The only way to tell for sure is to track your returns on this important investment!

3. Mentions. Keeping close tabs on any mentions of your company across the web is crucial in today’s world. After all, the average piece of front-page Reddit content is estimated to receive over 300,000 views — so public perception can change in a hurry! Here is another Content Grabber blog resource for those looking to learn more: 4 Facts to Know About Online Reputation Management.

4. Market Positioning. If you are still unfamiliar with the concept of market positioning (and how it can benefit your business) then we suggest checking out this thorough and insightful overview from The Houston Chronicle.

5.Social Media Following and Engagement. Social networks are one of the most powerful marketing tools of our generation — thanks, in large part, to the fact that they lend themselves so handily to data collection, analysis, and utilization. For more information on social media market and big data (or on big data in general) we encourage you to head over to the Content Grabber homepage, where you can also find links to download your own free trial version of our renowned business software.

]]>http://blog.contentgrabber.com/5-web-metrics-business-owners-pay-close-attention/feed/0Responding to Negative Online Feedbackhttp://blog.contentgrabber.com/responding-negative-online-feedback/
http://blog.contentgrabber.com/responding-negative-online-feedback/#respondFri, 02 Feb 2018 18:46:42 +0000http://blog.contentgrabber.com/?p=660One of the most common reasons why companies opt to invest their time and money in data scraping is the ability to monitor any and all discussion surrounding their brand. Receiving positive feedback about your organization certainly is rewarding, inspiring, … Continue reading →

One of the most common reasons why companies opt to invest their time and money in data scraping is the ability to monitor any and all discussion surrounding their brand. Receiving positive feedback about your organization certainly is rewarding, inspiring, and informative — but oftentimes, negative feedback is far more crucial for business owners hoping to make a real difference in the way they are perceived.

Below, we have compiled a quick list of four tips that you should keep in mind next time you find yourself responding to negative feedback on Google, social media, or other online platforms.

1.Answer Within An Appropriate Time Frame.

Responding within the first hour of receiving negative feedback is hardly ever a good idea — after all, both you and the person who wrote the review are probably still feeling a bit frustrated.

Conversely, waiting more than 24 hours is not advisable either, as this gives the poster time to subconsciously “finalize” their opinion about your company, while leaving their negative feedback exposed to new potential customers for a long time.

Finally, ignoring negative feedback, though a tempting option, is simply not a viable course of action in today’s world. The post will be seen by many people, and it is in your best interest to put a word in.

2.Begin Your Response By Acknowledging the Issue

One of the most basic principles of conflict resolution: acknowledge your opponent’s grievances. This demonstrates a basic level of compassion and understanding that will help build a foundation for constructive dialogue — and it ensures that you will appear friendly and reasonable to any potential customers who see the exchange in the future. Last but not least, it also helps ensure that the issue is not merely a miscommunication.

In some cases, customers simply wish to be heard — and restating the problem in your own words may be half the solution. On the opposite end of the spectrum, if the poster is truly belligerent and not interested in finding a solution at all, at least completing this step will help make it clear where everyone stands.

3.Think Creatively To Discover a Personalized Solution.

Some companies like to develop “canned” responses to common issues. (For example, you may have a pre-written script on hand for an angry customer, a confused customer, a happy customer, etc.) This is fine, and can help you save time while also expressing yourself in a manner that is in line with the company’s vision — but you should still take time to customize each response to the individual case.

For some customers, a free refund may be the perfect response to their issue, whereas others may simply need kind words and a bit of technical assistance, and still others may be stating half-truths about your business and tarnishing your good name! Individualized responses are always the smartest way to go, as they allow you to respond to the nuances of each case.

4.Monitor Your Reviews Across the Web.

Last but not least, remember that, even though each customer deserves to be treated on an individual basis, your company has a lot to gain by analyzing trends. Perhaps a series of complaints about your staff will alert you to an HR problem, for example, or perhaps a series of good reviews about your staff will let you know not to stress about that recent complaint.

One common reason why our clients choose to utilize data scraping software is as a search engine optimization tool. Indexing organic search results, for example, is a great way of finding out where you stand — because no goal is achievable unless it is measurable. Data scraping is also great for search engine oriented websites because it helps you fetch info on other important metrics of competing sites, such as common meta tags, title tags, H1 and H2 tags, Facebook likes, backlinks, HTTP headers, and more.

Sound a bit intimidating? No worries — SEO doesn’t need to be absurdly complex. In fact, some of the most effective search engine optimization techniques are also among the most straightforward. If you are new to the SEO world and are unsure of whether you are ready to incorporate tools such as data scraping into your campaign, then we recommend starting with the following 5 optimization methods and evaluating a data scraping investment from there:

Highlight Your Success With Well-Written Web Copy.

From a mission statement, to an “about us” page, to a company history and more — as a general rule, the more information you put at your visitor’s disposal, the better! Not only will this encourage potential customers to learn about your company, it will also encourage Google and other search engines to rank you favorably. Here are a few talking points that can help inspire you and any writers you work with as you build your site:

How long you have been in business.

Your company location(s) and contact information.

Awards and accolades your company has earned.

Types of customers and clients with whom your company has worked.

Any other facts that show the uniqueness of your company.

Make Website Navigation User-Friendly.

Everyone who visits your site should be able to find information easily and efficiently. Here are some guidelines that will help you make that happen:

Offer a search function so visitors looking for specific items won’t be disappointed.

Include a site map, which is extremely useful to web-crawling bots.

Keep headers and labels clear, so that visitors always know exactly where they are.

Readability and “scanability” are both factors monitored and networked by Google — and a site that is visually appealing is more likely to succeed in areas beyond SEO as well. To play things safe, strive for a combination of three mutually complementary colors:

A dominant Color (Use only for the logo and places where you want your user to act–fill in a form or call a phone number, for example).

An accent Color (This color should complement the dominant color. Use it to direct your visitor to important information on the website).

A background Color (Just like the color of a room, this color should reflect the overall mood of your company website.).

Encourage Customer Testimonials.

Testimonials are a great way to focus on the customer rather than the company. After all, the customers who give testimonials were once just like your current visitors, and are easily relatable. Because of this, they have been shown to improve conversion rates dramatically. Moreover, they are a great way of creating original content, which, as discussed before, works wonders for SEO.

Utilize Internal Linking.

One of the easiest ways to make your company website ultra user-friendly is to provide internal linking — and even SEO beginners know that Google, Bing, and other search engines appreciate this navigability tool just as much as human users!

]]>http://blog.contentgrabber.com/5-ways-improve-search-engine-results/feed/04 Ways Data Scraping Software Could Be Making You Moneyhttp://blog.contentgrabber.com/4-ways-data-scraping-software-making-money/
http://blog.contentgrabber.com/4-ways-data-scraping-software-making-money/#respondThu, 04 Jan 2018 17:38:10 +0000http://blog.contentgrabber.com/?p=646The web is sometimes referred to as the great equalizer of the business world. This is because online tools such as data scraping offer such incredible scalability that small organizations can compete with a larger companies like never before. The … Continue reading →

The web is sometimes referred to as the great equalizer of the business world. This is because online tools such as data scraping offer such incredible scalability that small organizations can compete with a larger companies like never before.

The software offered here at Content Grabber is only one example of this — and rest assured that there are many more. However, we do believe that scraping agents offer a uniquely powerful and versatile solution applicable to many small businesses.

Directly increasing income is far from the only purpose of data scraping. In fact, our clients have used data scraping agents for an impressively diverse array of professional purposes, including content migration, legacy application integration, open-source intelligence, news monitoring, and many more. However, we will be the first to admit that extra income is one of the biggest attention-getters!

The foundation of any strong social media marketing campaign is a profound knowledge of both your product and of your audience. Understanding the ins and outs of your industry identifying customer needs, and fulfilling them in a truly unique and convincing way are not skills that big data can grant you.

However, even with such a foundation in place, the world of social media marketing is so fast-paced and competitive that success is no guarantee. And this is where data can be of tremendous use. A/B comparisons, studies of customer habits, audience identification, and other big data strategies can all help you tweak your message and reach a wider, more qualified audience. And this can directly lead to more sales, both online and in person.

2.Offering Valuable SEO Insights.

It doesn’t take a marketing genius to tell you that the higher your company appears on search engine results, the more sales you are going to make. (And the faster you are going to make them!) This is good news for anyone who is invested in data aggregation and analysis, as SEO is a data-driven endeavor.

3.Reducing Market Research Overhead.

In essence, data scraping software such as Content Grabber is a type of automation. Such programs enable you to gather information from many different websites without needing to manually sort through website after website, copying and pasting the information that you are looking for.

By reducing the need for human labor, data scraping can result in serious savings in the payroll department. Perhaps more importantly, it enables small organizations to take a much more aggressive approach to marketing, unconstrained by regular cash flow concerns. This creates a potential for much higher marketing ROI.

4.Selling Royalty-Free Solutions.

For customers of Content Grabber, an additional income opportunity comes in the form of selling and sharing the custom scraping agents you develop when working with our software. (We ensure that your creations remain royalty free as part of our comprehensive commitment to customer service!) If you find a solution that works for you, share it with the world — you might just offset the cost of your original investment, or even make a pretty penny!

]]>http://blog.contentgrabber.com/4-ways-data-scraping-software-making-money/feed/0Breaking Google’s reCAPTCHA v2 with Content Grabberhttp://blog.contentgrabber.com/breaking-googles-recaptcha-v2-content-grabber/
http://blog.contentgrabber.com/breaking-googles-recaptcha-v2-content-grabber/#respondTue, 26 Dec 2017 23:20:11 +0000http://blog.contentgrabber.com/?p=600(Do not use Content Grabber for illegal purposes. It’s up to you to determine if breaking a CAPTCHA is acceptable in your situation.) Most people working with web scraping has come across web pages protected by Google’s reCAPTCHA v2. Recent … Continue reading →

]]>(Do not use Content Grabber for illegal purposes. It’s up to you to determine if breaking a CAPTCHA is acceptable in your situation.)

Most people working with web scraping has come across web pages protected by Google’s reCAPTCHA v2. Recent versions of this CAPTCHA are nearly impossible to break automatically using image or voice recognition, and will require manual processing to bypass. However, just because manual work is required, it doesn’t mean YOU have to do the manual work yourself. You can outsource this manual process to companies that specialize in breaking CAPTCHAs and have an army of casual workers who are willing to break these CAPTCHAs for a very small fee (approx $3 per 1000 CAPTCHAs).

In this blog post I’ll show how to use the 2CAPTCHA.com service with Content Grabber to break Google’s reCAPTCHA v2. I’ll use Google’s reCAPTCHA v2 demo website for this exercise. This website requires you to click on the familiar “I’m not a robot” checkbox to submit a web form. The web page looks like this:

reCAPTCHA v2 can be implemented on a web page in many different ways, and each different implementation requires special consideration, which is why there’s no single command in Content Grabber that can be used to resolve reCAPTCHA v2. In this blog post I’ll only deal with the most common way reCAPTCHA v2 is used on a web page. You can read more about reCAPTCHA v2, and the different ways it’s implemented on web sites, on the 2CAPTCHA.com website (https://2captcha.com/2captcha-api#solving_recaptchav2_new).

Resolving reCAPTCHA With the 2CAPTCHA.com Service

Here’s the process required to resolve reCAPTCHA v2 with the 2CAPTCHA.com service (as described on their website).

Step 1

Find a link that begins with www.google.com/recaptcha/api2/anchor, or find a HTML tag with the parameter “data-sitekey”.

Step 2

Copy the value of the “k” parameter of the link (or the value of the data-sitekey parameter).

Step 3

Submit a request to our API with URL http://2captcha.com/in.php and method set to “userrecaptcha” and provide the value found on previous step as value for googlekey and full page URL as value for pageurl. Example:

If CAPTCHA is not solved yet, the server will return JSON with result CAPCHA_NOT_READY. Retry your request after 5 seconds.

Step 6

Locate the form field with ID “g-recaptcha-response” and set the form field with the token value retrieved in the previous step.

Step 7

Submit the web form.

Creating a Content Grabber Agent

I now want to create a Content Grabber agent that performs the steps required to work with the 2CAPTCHA.com service. This is not as hard as it may first look, but it does require some investigative work to find the HTML tag that contains the “data-sitekey” parameter and the form field that has the ID “g-recaptcha-response”. These HTML tags are hidden tags, so you need to look in the HTML source code, or use the Nodes panel in the Content Grabber editor.

Step 1

To find the HTML tag that contains the data-sitekey parameter, I’ve selected the reCAPTCHA box in the Content Grabber editor, and then opened the Nodes panel to find the correct HTML tag. I’ve also found the form field with ID “g-recaptcha-response”, which is requires in a later step.

Step 2

I need the data-sitekey parameter and the page URL in my first call to the 2CAPTCHA.com service, so I’ll add two Capture commands to capture those two data values.

I need to use the data from these two commands as parameters to the call I’ll make to the 2CAPTCHA.com service, so to make things easier at design time, I’ll set the option “Update Design Value Automatically” on both Capture commands, so next time I open the agent in the editor, the design time values are extracted and updated. Otherwise, next time I open the agent in the editor, I would get the data-sitekey from when I created the agent, and that would not work, since the data-sitekey parameter changes every time I load the page.

My agent now looks like this:

Step 3

I now need to make the call to the 2CAPTCHA.com service. The service returns JSON, so I’ll add a URL command that opens a new JSON parser.

I want to load a URL that uses the data from my Capture commands as parameters. The easiest way to do this is to use a URL template like this:

I can then use the Content Transformation “insert_data” to replace the templates {$sitekey} and {$pageUrl} with extracted data. I also need to specify the authentication key, which is provided to you when sign up for the 2CAPTCHA.com service. I’ve added the authentication key as an Input Parameter, so the {$key} will be replaced with the authentication key specified as input parameter to the agent.

My agent now looks like this:

Step 4

I’ll now execute the URL command that makes the first API call, and that should open a new JSON parser with JSON that looks like this:

Step 5

I now need to make a second API call with the request ID as a parameter, so I need to add a Capture command that extracts the request ID from the JSON Parser. Again, the request ID changes every time I process a new CAPTCHA, so I set the Capture option “Update Design Value Automatically” to make sure the design time value is always current.

Step 6

I’ll now add a URL command that makes the second API call and uses the request ID as a parameter. Again, I use a URL template and a Content Transformation script to insert the request ID and the authentication key.

Step 7

If the CAPTCHA has not yet been resolves (it can take up to a minute or more, since there are real people involved), then you’ll see a result like this:

I now have to wait for a little while and try again. I’ll add an “Exit or Retry” sub-command that pauses for 5 seconds and retries the parent command if the result is CAPTCHA_NOT_READY. I’ll keep retrying 15 times before exiting. This gives the 2CAPTCHA.com service more than a minute to resolve the CAPTCHA, which seems to work for me, but you may have to increase this number in some situations.

Step 8

Once the CAPTCHA has been resolved, you’ll see a JSON response like this:

I’ll add a Capture command to extract the CAPTCHA token. I need the captured value to be available to the parent commands that are processing the original web form, so I set the Capture option “Make Data Available to Parents”, and I also set the Capture option “Update Design Value Automatically”, so the extracted value is always current at design time.

The agent commands dealing with the JSON responses from the 2CAPTCHA.com service now look like this:

Step 9

I can now go back to the web form and add a Form Field command that sets the value of the form field with ID “g-recaptcha-response” with the CAPTCHA token extracted in step 8.

Step 10

Finally, I’ll add a Link command that clicks on the Submit button to submit the form, and you should see the following page when you execute the command:

]]>http://blog.contentgrabber.com/breaking-googles-recaptcha-v2-content-grabber/feed/06 Tips for Better Email Marketinghttp://blog.contentgrabber.com/6-tips-better-email-marketing/
http://blog.contentgrabber.com/6-tips-better-email-marketing/#respondFri, 22 Dec 2017 16:10:47 +0000http://blog.contentgrabber.com/?p=592According to some estimates, the ROI generated by email marketing can be as high as $36 on the dollar. And that should be reason enough for your organization to continue pursuing this low-cost staple of internet marketing, even if you … Continue reading →

According to some estimates, the ROI generated by email marketing can be as high as $36 on the dollar. And that should be reason enough for your organization to continue pursuing this low-cost staple of internet marketing, even if you are heavily invested in more cutting-edge marketing strategies as well.

Not seeing the email marketing results you would like? Perhaps it’s time to reconsider your approach. The following six tips have been shown to improve click rates and conversions for many businesses in the past — could yours be next?

1.Write Concisely. A marketing email is not a ebook — or even a blog post, for that matter. You don’t need to offer extremely in-depth coverage of the topic you are writing about. In fact, doing so would actually be counterproductive. Your goal should be to introduce an idea and entice readers to click on a link to a landing page where they can learn more. (And where, if all goes well, they can buy a product or convert on whatever action you are pitching.)

2.Use Hyperlinks Strategically. Assuming you have a basic understanding of email marketing strategies, you probably already know that including a few hyperlinks to your website is usually a smart idea. Here are a few simple pointers that can help you improve your hyperlink usage and get the best results out of each and every email:

All links should lead to the same page.

Place your links of intriguing action words.

Use between 3 and 5 links in a typical email

Ensure that links are well-spaced.

3.Increase the Size of Your Audience. Email marketing is uniquely scalable: sending a CC to one million recipients costs the same as sending a grocery list to your significant other! Take advantage of this, and grow the size of your email contact list with the following tips:

Ask for contact information on web forms

Create a free ebook to send to the email address of any interested customer

4.Give your Readers the Option to Receive Fewer Emails. One reason why some companies shy away from this highly effective marketing method is that they fear customers will view their emails as spam. Keeping marketing messages optional, however, is the best way to avoid this.

5.Ensure that Your Email is Worth Subscribing to. Ideally, the fact that your emails are optional should be a moot point — because your company should be using the following strategies to ensure that customers are always on the lookout for a new message in their inboxes:

Offer special discounts applicable only to those on the mailing list.

Keep emails frequent enough to be remembered, but infrequent enough to be special.

6.Utilize a Clear Call to Action. In some cases, this might mean asking potential customers to buy a product or sign up for a service. In others, however, it can be as simple as asking readers to visit your website and learn more about what your company offers. For example: if you enjoyed reading this article and found it useful for your business, then we encourage you to learn more about advanced marketing tools and strategies with Content Grabber.

For both individuals and organizations alike, the online world presents both tremendous opportunity and potential challenges. Public relations offers an insightful illustration of this fact. For example:

In a best-case scenario, your online presence and the online conversation surrounding you can attract clients, impress possible employers, spark the interest of potential investors, etc.

Of course, most businesses have a wide range of experiences falling somewhere in between these two extremes. Fortunately, influencing your online image and/or the online image of your organization is an achievable objective – especially if you are armed with effective reputation management tools and an accurate understanding of what needs to be done. In this article, we will highlight four insightful facts that anyone concerned with online reputation should be aware of.

1.Online Research has Become a Norm in the Professional WorldStudies have shown that roughly 80 percent of all consumers perform online research regarding brands before making a purchasing decision on simple products and services. As you can imagine, this number is estimated to be even higher when it comes to B2B transactions. Similarly 70 percent of employers admit to checking social media and/or popular search engines during the hiring process. Clearly, therefore the significance of online reputation management in this day and age cannot be disputed – and as the world becomes increasingly connected, it can be safely assumed that this importance will only grow.

2.Negative Feedback Can Hurt Far More Than Positive Feedback Helps
50% approval rates simply don’t cut it in the business world – in fact, most serious brands aim for an absolute minimum average of 4 star reviews on Google, Yelp, and similar services. To attain the 80% approval rating needed to gain such a reputation, companies must garner 4 positive reviews for every negative one. Though this fact may be obvious from a mathematical standpoint, it is also clear that many organizations underestimate the dedication needed to achieve this.

3.Manually Monitoring of Online Reputation Can Be Misleading and Inefficient
Personally reviewing your rankings on online reviewing platforms such as Google, Yelp, and popular social media sites is probably doable – albeit somewhat time consuming. However, if you wish to take into account feedback originating in online forums, conversations occurring on social networks, and other diverse sources of insight, then automated reputation management tools, such as a data scraper, are probably necessary.

4.Transparency, Integrity, and Generosity are Crucial to Online PR
In 2010, amidst a wave of public criticism for damaging environmental practices, Nestle opted to delete thousands of comments posted by social media followers. In 2013, the social media manager of Amy’s Bakery responded to customer criticism by going on an angry tirade of insults against any and every critic. As you can imagine, both of these cases became widely-cited examples about how not to handle online PR adversity. When you do find negative feedback regarding your brand, this should never be ignored — however, it should be responded to in a transparent and constructive manner. Here are a few options to consider:

Make things better for any disappointed customers by offering a free product, a refund, a repair, etc.

Rebut complaints in a reasonable way, always assuming the best. (i.e. We are terribly sorry we didn’t have any seats available last Friday, but our policies clearly state that customers must have a reservation to dine here during the weekend.)

Contact the website owner or pursue legal action if the information posted is inaccurate or deliberately malicious.

Why aren’t more organizations taking advantage of the numerous benefits that automated web scraping has to offer? One important reason is probably the relative newness and seeming complexity of this cutting-edge big data tool. Business owners and organizational leaders simply have too many questions and concerns that are usually left unanswered, which brings them to the unfortunate conclusion that data scraping isn’t worth the hassle or the risk.

Here at Content Grabber, we are driven and inspired by the knowledge that web scraping can play a tremendously beneficial role for many businesses and organizations just like our own — and this is why we have made it our personal mission to educate and inform potential users. So we encourage you to look over this quick list of common concerns regarding data scraping, and to reach out and contact us if you have any further questions!

1.Web Scraping and Organizational Security.

As we will soon discuss, most web scraping practices are completely legal and utterly harmless to the sites being “scraped.” (And this is certainly the type of web scraping that we encourage here at Content Grabber.) Nonetheless, because this practice is frequently misunderstood, many business owners worry that websites will identify their IP addresses. This information can then be used to “dox” and publically shame the business and/or to blacklist the business from doing any further scraping on the site.

In an ideal world, everyone would understand enough about data scraping to know that this practice is normally both legal and ethical. Because so much misinformation abounds, however, your desire to stay anonymous is completely understandable. And this is why we designed Content Grabber software to be completely compatible with Nohodo, an IP proxy provider that offers free rotating IP services.

2.Debugging and Error Recovery in Web Scraping Algorithms.

Because the web is constantly changing — and because no bot is completely infallible — a reliable debugging agent is crucial for virtually any automated online function. Moreover, because websites themselves can (intentionally or unintentionally) present bots with many different types of errors, a solid error-recovery system is equally as important. Here at Content Grabber, we understand these issues and have programmed our software accordingly.

3.User Education and Consulting

Web scraping is a fairly complex process — so it should come as no surprise that even tech-savvy business owners sometimes find managing web scraping software in an efficient and beneficial manner to be challenging. That is why we offer flexible consulting services for our customers, regardless of whether your concerns deal with data aggregation, market intelligence and monitoring, compliance and risk management, government solutions, background checking, sales lead generation, content integration, B2B automation, and/or process automation.

4.The Ethics of Web Scraping

Because web scraping relies on utilizing the data of other organizations, businesses, and websites, some people are very quick to question whether or not this practice is ethical. Here are three important reasons why web scraping is always harmless and, in many cases, mutually beneficial:

Data gained is oftentimes not personally identifiable at all. Data scraped for the purpose of aggregating market information or calculating average prices, for example, will not even make reference to any individual airline.

Scraped information was already publically accessible. Regardless of whether info is personally identifiable (and to what degree) that information was already online in a publically accessible place. Web scrapers do not break into private databases!

Web scraping is a diverse practice with many applications. Last but not least, if you have heard “horror stories” about unethical web scraping tactics, remember that there are literally hundreds of different ways to utilize this process. Just because one company did so in an unscrupulous manner does not mean that the process itself is bad.